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Class I railroad
Freight railroads in the United States are classified by the Association of American Railroads as Class I, Class II and Class III (also called Classes 1, 2 and 3) in terms of size. The classification has always been by means of annual operating revenue; the exact revenues required to be in each class have varied through the years since they have adjusted for inflation.
As of late 2004, a Class 1 railroad has an operating revenue exceeding $277.7 million. The exact setting of the cut-off figure has always been as much a political decision as anything else; there have always been rumors of the powerful Class 1 companies voting to increase the cut-off to deny an upstart membership of their exclusive "club".
The current Class I United States railroads are:
Three Canadian railways and two Mexican railroads would fit the definition if they were U.S. companies:
History
Fiscal year
|
Cutoff |
Railroads |
Changes from previous year |
1984 |
|
AGS , AMTK, ATSF, BLE, BM, BN, BO, CG , CN, CNTP, CNW, CO, CP, CR, DH, DMIR, EJE, FEC, FXE , GTW, ICG, KCS, MILW, MKT, MP, NW, PLE, SBD, SOO, SOU, SP, SSW , UP, WP
|
1995 |
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ATSF, BNSF, CR, CSXT, GTW, IC, KCS, NS, SOO, SP, UP
|
1996 |
$255.9 million |
BNSF, CR, CSXT, GTW, IC, KCS, NS, SOO, UP
|
2000 |
$256.4 million |
BNSF, CSXT, GTW, IC, KCS, NS, SOO, UP
|
CN took over IC; IC continued to report as a separate company in 2000
CR was split into CSX and NS |
2002 |
$266.7 million |
BNSF, CN, CP, CSXT, FXE , GTW, IC, KCS, NS, SOO, TFM, UP
|
2004 |
$277.7 million |
BNSF, CN, CP, CSXT, FXE , GTW, KCS, NS, SOO, TFM, UP
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Consolidations
Over the years, many Class I railroads have merged to stave off bankruptcy or simply to increase profits. The following is a list of consolidations that have merged at least one Class 1 railroad into a larger one:
See also
References
Last updated: 05-10-2005 17:05:54
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